So we did the ‘nighttime flashlight fun with the tank’ thing last night. Saw some huge worms (not like Craigs, he’s got a bigger worm then me heh heh), tons of pods all over the place and a few other things that brought up some concern.
Sponges on Zoos/Palys
Nudis?? on Zoos/Palys
Worm poking at mushrooms
My palythoa patch is huge and full so I usually can’t see any of the stalks or what is inside of them unless it is dark, all of the polyps are always open and they seem to keep getting bigger and the patch fuller (some are the size of a half dollar at times!) so I don’t think anything is bothering them. BUT last night I noticed quite a few Scypha sponges growing on the stalks of the palys. I’ve seen a few of these popping up in my tank and had no idea where they came from. I did a bit of research on them earlier and found they aren’t something to be concerned about in the tank, but are they something to be concerned about on Zoo/Paly stalks?
I’ve also noticed a fair about of clear type things near the base of the stalks, it is really hard to tell what they are as they are the same coloration of the stalks. From what I’ve read nudi’s can and will take on the color of their current zoo meal. Can this be them? Any better way to id? Would the Palys be happily open and growning if they were under attack?
We also noticed a small worm on the mushroom colony rock from TFP. About the diameter of the tip of a pencil all the way back and about 1" long coming from the rock. He was poking at the mushroom and the shroom was closed up. Is this a mushroom eating worm? He was not afraid of the light.
I know pictures tell a thousand words, so I’ll try to get some of them up tonight. I know this is similar to other threads going on now, but didn’t want to hijack other threads.
all i can say is i hope u dont got the nudi’s we got. we have taken out 3 or 4 a day or the last week. suckin them out with a turkeybaster or fw dip and a soft toothbrush work best. i can tell u that when the zoa have nudi,s on them in our tank they dont look happy.
[quote=“icy1155, post:3, topic:1032”]
What color was the worm? Did he have antenna on his face, or just normal spines running up his body?[/quote]
The mushroom worm? He was pretty much translucent, didnt look like Eunicid worm if thats what your thinking, but something similar looks to be growning near my Zoas, but they don’t move. Not sure. The mushroom worm was pretty much translucent with no markings.
“last night I noticed quite a few Scypha sponges growing on the stalks of the palys”. I’m curious how you came to that ID. There are three genus and many species of calcareous sponges which look pretty similar to the naked eye. I haven’t done too much research on them as none of them have been problems before with reef tanks, but most sponges are only identifiable under a microscope and even that is tough.
I have some of these growing in my tanks, but never on any corals. Thing is I have never had a ton of them(maybe 30 in a 30g fuge filled with LR and no light) and actually haven’t seen any in a couple months. More then likely it is just a sponge, but look at as many pictures of zoanthid pests as you can to be sure. I would be surprised if you had a problem though as most likely all the polyps wouldn’t open up.
“From what I’ve read nudi’s can and will take on the color of their current zoo meal. Can this be them?” Some one, I don’t think all of them will though. I have not seen clear ones personally.
“Any better way to id?” with a great photograph possibly, but doubtful. See if you can get a photo and we will go from there.
“Would the Palys be happily open and growning if they were under attack?” Possible that a couple of polyps might be open if they were under attack, but the majority of them would be 90% closed.
“Is this a mushroom eating worm?” There are many soft coral eating animals. What color was the animal? Try a google search for images of Arminia spp. and Dermatobrachus spp. They are soft coral eaters and should be removed immediately.
When in doubt, separate the animal(glass jar), ID and the consider placing it back in the tank with acclimation. I’ve kept snails and crabs in glass jars at room temp for 30 days with out problems.